CAPE CORAL, Fla. — A Cape Coral duo was arrested after posing as Florida Gaming Control Commission employees and attempting to defraud two arcade businesses.
According to the Lee County Sheriff's Office, 48-year-old Joseph Zimmer and his ex-wife, 51-year-old Kelly Whalen, entered a 777 Arcade in North Fort Myers Monday afternoon.
Zimmer was dressed in a uniform shirt with a patch labeled 'US Security Associates' and had a holstered firearm. Whalen wore an ID card around her neck.
Both suspects claimed they were employees of the Gaming Commission and that the arcade business was operating illegally. They instructed a victim to turn over currency from a safe for documentation.
Zimmer and Whalen walked out with $660, a computer mouse and a DVR system.
They then went to a second North Fort Myers location, Quick Hits Arcade, where they walked away with more than $2,000.
Detectives with the Violent Crimes Unit and Real Time Intelligence Center analysts were able to identify Zimmer through surveillance images. The suspects drove away in a vehicle that was registered to Whalen's child.
Zimmer and Whalen were pulled over during a traffic stop near their home in Cape Coral. Evidence found during the stop linked them to the heists.
Zimmer is charged with impersonating an official, fraudulently obtaining property and driving with a revoked license.
Whalen is charged with fraudulently obtaining property.
